Bordeaux is one of the most famous wine-producing regions in France. The Quironte River flows through Bordeaux and divides Bordeaux into the left bank and the right bank. Of the four most famous red wine producing areas in Bordeaux, two are located on the Left Bank: Medoc and Graves, and two other famous producing areas: Pomerol and Saint-Emilion. Saint-Emilion) is located on the right bank. In addition, there is a famous Sauternes production area southeast of Graves on the Left Bank of Bordeaux. The botrytis sweet white wine produced here is the world's top.
Generally speaking, the wineries and vineyards on the Left Bank are larger in scale, and the wines they produce are rigorous and complex. They basically use Cabernet Sauvignon as the main ingredient, mixed with other varieties (except Cabernet Sauvignon). , the main grape varieties used are blended red wines such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, etc.). Compared with the Left Bank, the wineries on the Right Bank are usually smaller in scale, with more country house-type small wineries, and the wines they produce are gentler and more elegant. Unlike the soil on the left bank, which is dominated by sand and gravel, the main soil on the right bank is clay, followed by gravel. Since the clay has poor drainage, it is not conducive to the growth of Cabernet Sauvignon. The grape varieties are mainly Merlot, and there are blended wines. There are also red wines of the single Merlot variety.
The most famous production area in Bordeaux is the Medoc on the Left Bank. All red wines produced in the Medoc are blends dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon. The Medoc is divided into the Upper Medoc (that is, the higher-lying area to the south of the Medoc) and the Lower Medoc (the lowlands offshore to the north). The word "下" in the Lower Medoc is not nice, and the wine produced in this area Wines are generally labeled as Medoc), the more famous one is Haut-Médoc. For example, there are 61 1855 classified growths (divided into 1 to 5 levels), 60 of which are located in Haute-Médoc, and another one named The first-class Chateau Obiang is not located in Lower Medoc, but is located in Pessac-Léognan in Graves, which is a special case. There are many small village-level production areas below the Upper Medoc, the famous ones are: Pauillac, Margaux, Saint-Julien, Saint-Stephen, etc. What everyone usually calls France's top five famous chateaux refers to the five first-class chateaus listed in the Medoc region in 1855: Latour, Lafite, and Mouton, all located in the village of Pauillac in the Medoc. , Chateau Margaux is located in the village of Margaux in the Medoc, and Obiang is located in the Pessac-Léognan region of Graves. Among the "Big Five", except for Mouton, which was promoted from second level to first level in 1973, the other four are all established first level chateaus since the classification system was promulgated in 1855. Since there are thousands of wineries in the Medoc region, and the 1855 Grand Cru Classé only included 60 wineries in the region, in 1932, the Medoc region established an association of intermediate wineries, and in that year ***444 middle-level wineries, also known as Bourgeois medium-level wineries, are rated as "star wineries" in China, to fill the shortcomings of the classification of famous wineries. In terms of wine quality, the vast majority of wines from mid-level chateaux are still not up to par with those of classified chateaus. However, after years of development, the level of some wineries has been recognized as reaching the level of classified chateaus. The most representative ones are The most popular one is Chasse-Spleen in the Upper Medoc.
The Graves region is a wine-producing region closest to the urban area of ??Bordeaux. The wines from this region have strong earthy and mineral flavors and unique personalities. The northernmost part of the Graves region, close to the urban area of ??Bordeaux, is divided into a sub-region called Pessac-Leognan. Almost all Graves famous wines come from this sub-region. , in addition to the famous first-class Chateau Obiang, another famous one is La Mission Haut-Brion, known as the "Post-War Wine Emperor". The beauty of the abbey was once a strong competitor of Obiang, but in 1983, the beauty of the abbey was acquired by the owner of Obiang, and the "war" was subsided.
In terms of wine quality alone, Abbey Rouge is not necessarily worse than Obiang. It has received full marks from R.P. (Robert Parker, the world's most influential wine critic) more times than Obiang! Other fine wines from Pessac-Léognan include: Pape Clement, Smith Haut Lafitte, etc.
After talking about the red wine on the left bank, we turned to the right bank. The Saint-Emilion district on the right bank actually has many similarities with the left bank: there is also a winery classification system, and the grape varieties are mainly blended. However, its classification system is still different from that of the Medoc region. The grape varieties are mainly Merlot, followed by Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon usually accounts for a small proportion. Saint-Emilion's winery classification is divided into 4 levels. The first-level winery is called PREMIER GRAND CRU CLASSE "A". There have always been only two wineries: Cheval Blanc and Ausone, which are also one of the "eight major wineries" in Bordeaux respectively; the second-level winery is called PREMIER GRAND CRU CLASSE "A". PREMIER or 1ER GRAND CRU CLASSE "B"). After the rankings were updated in 2006, there are 13 of them, among which Angelus and Pavie are the most famous. Figeac and Troplong-Mondot, which deservedly upgraded from level 3 to level 2 in 2006, are also famous; the third level winery is called GRAND CRU CLASSE, currently *** There are 46 wineries, the more famous ones are Canon la Gaffeliere and Monbousquet, which was upgraded in 2006; the fourth-level winery is simply called GRAND CRU, with a total of ** *There are hundreds.
Most of the wineries in Pomerol mainly grow Merlot. Some wineries add Cabernet Franc for blending, and some wineries produce pure Merlot wines with almost no Cabernet Sauvignon. Pomerol is also the smallest of the four major red wine-producing regions. There is no ranking system in the region. The annual output is very small, but it is a pearl shining on the right bank of Bordeaux. Some of the most famous and expensive wines in Bordeaux are produced here, including Petrus (top of the eight), Le Pin, L'Eglise Clinet, and Chateau Cuihua ( Lafleur), as well as La Fleur Petrus, L'Evangile, La Conseillante, Trotanoy, Vieux Ch?teau Certan, Pomerol's most popular old winery) etc.
When it comes to the Right Bank, we have to mention the famous "garage wineries" in Bordeaux. Most of them are concentrated in Saint-Emilion. The most famous one is Valandraud, as well as La Mondott and Tertre Roteboeuf. , Clos Saint Martin, La Gomerie (owned by the same family as another famous Saint-Emilion "top B" Beau-Sejour Becot), etc.; Pomerol also has many garage wines, such as: the most famous garage winery The originator, the price mentioned above is comparable to Petrus' Le Pin, La Clemence, Clos L'Eglise, La Croix St. Georges, etc. The wines produced by Garage Winery are usually of higher quality and more expensive, but due to their short history, they are not recognized by the French agricultural department in the rankings. For example, the Garage Winery in Saint-Emilion is the most common level 4 winery.
Finally, let’s give a rough introduction to the Sauternes production area: the world’s most famous production area of ??noble rot sweet white wine. Sauternes also has a grading system. The only super-grand winery listed at the top is the famous Chateau d’Yquem. Other famous first-class wineries include: Climens, Rieussec, Lafaurie Peyraguey, etc.
I’m so tired. It took me nearly 2 hours, like writing a paper~